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A word from Phil Liggett..... "What
a different sporting year it will be in 2006. No Lance Armstrong will mean we
can look forward to a very different Tour de France
as the race (not to mention the organisers) will feel a sense of relief that
the American has finally called it a day.
We as simple mortals will miss the Great One’s presence for sure, but when the King is dead it is always a case of Long Live the King, as life continues and this new year will certainly be one to enjoyed. These past years, Paul Sherwen and myself have enjoyed meeting members of the Premier Group on the Tour de France and this year it will again be at Alpe d’Huez, as it was a couple of years ago. It may sound strange when we say it is a highlight of the Tour for us, as to just mix with you and hear your tales of the trip, gives us as much pleasure as calling the race for television. The season for me will start in Australia with the Bay Classic series near Melbourne and the Tour Down Under, but for Sporting Tours, your treks around the World could begin with a training camp in February on the warm(ish) Costa Blanca. Spain has become a very popular early kick-off point for the British enthusiast as some early riding beneath a warming Spanish sun is just the fillip we all need so that we can dream about a successful season ahead. These camps have become very popular, so Sporting Tours has added more this year and in April you can also go to the race-mad area of Murcia. Sporting Tours and my friend Graham Baxter (you should know I have no commercial link with the company, and write because I want to!) were the first to start these trips to races and while the Grand Tours are as popular as ever, the classics continue to snatch the early-season limelight. And, in keeping with a popular trend around the world, Sporting Tours is this year paying increased attention to the Cyclo Sportive events. The Etape du Tour is the stage to Alpe d’Huez this time and will break a few spirits in the last 10 miles, but there is more pain and joy to be found all over the place. Belgium, Holland, France, Italy and Spain are all on the agenda and, as the UCI’s Golden Bike series begins to take off, you can find out the fun of riding in huge bunches of like-minded people. The Gran Fondo Pinarello is a great ride, as is Liege-Bastogne-Tilff (I have ridden this and be well prepared for the La Redoute climb near the end) while the beauty of the Italian Alps and the Spanish Pyrenees will always leave their mark. Whatever you choose, you will enjoy as never before, and I wish I could be
with you, honest!
Phil Liggett |
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I go to the Tour of Flanders, Ghent-Wevelgem and Paris-Roubaix with my bike
and meet many of you on the canals of Belgium or the cobblestones of the
Hell of the North in France. For me, this is when the year really starts
and George Hincapie comes into his own!
